• ViciousTangerine@lemmings.world
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      1 year ago

      At least it’s hypothetically possible to create with less net carbon impact than fossil fuels. It still has a long way to go, but we’ve got to invest in things that aren’t practical right now if we ever want aviation to decarbonize.

    • Dettweiler@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The most common method of making biodiesel that I know of involves fermenting farming byproducts, namely corn stalks and manure. However, it still produces CO2 when it combusts.

        • Dettweiler@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Fermentation is a natural process, so there’s no energy input to the process. As for output, you get almost the same energy density as standard diesel, and some excellent fertilizer. For a farming area, it’s very self sustaining. Farmers bring their excess crop waste and manure, they get fuel and fertilizer in return. Also, the methane that off-gasses during fermentation is collected and burned to supplement the power grid.

          Considering it’s mostly being used in this application, it works very well. However, I can see it falling way behind if scaled for widespread use in industrial and non-argricultural uses, where dedicated crops would be grown and harvested. Regardless, it’s a good way to cut down demand for standard fuel products for areas that can sustain a large biofuel digester.